Yang

"Tweet, tweet, tweet!"

After watering the fields, Tong Hua planned to return Orthworm to Sunshine Ranch.

But when he turned around, the big fellow had vanished again, so Tong Hua took out the whistle and blew it.

"Worm!"

The distant woods suddenly shook. Orthworm's enormous body burst out of the earth and charged toward him like a speeding train.

"Slow down, slow down!" Tong Hua laughed and took two steps back, but the gust still whipped up the hem of his shirt.

He stood on tiptoe and gently stroked Orthworm's cool, smooth cheek. "Thanks for all your hard work clearing the fields yesterday. Now it's time to take you back to Sunshine Ranch."

Orthworm docilely lowered its head, letting Tong Hua and the two Pokémon climb onto its back. Minccino nimbly sprang onto Tong Hua's shoulder, while Turtwig slowly climbed onto his head and settled down.

"Miltank!" Tong Hua called toward the ranch. "Keep an eye on the place, and watch out for the fences when you use Rollout! Bounsweet, I'm counting on you to look after the seedlings!"

"Ah-ma, ah-ma!" Bounsweet rolled happily along the field ridges, an innocent smile on its mud-covered face.

"Moo~" Miltank waved a hoof leisurely, having completely adjusted to its new home in just one day.

"Let's go!" Tong Hua patted Orthworm.

"Worm!"

Once they left, peace returned to the ranch.

A tiny figure hidden in the air silently watched everything on the ranch...

A small, adorable green figure...

"Angel Company is moving ahead with a new energy initiative, hmm..."

At Sunshine Ranch in Chicory Village, the old man sat at the front desk just as he had yesterday, wearing reading glasses as he read the Almia Times.

The old man's name was Yang. Originally a Pokémon Trainer from Paldea, he had come to the Almia Region several decades ago, married a local girl, and become the owner of Sunshine Ranch.

But their happy life had barely begun before his beloved passed away. From then on, he never remarried. With no children, he remained in this little village, running the ranch that had belonged to them both.

"New energy, huh? The times just keep moving forward. Last time it was oil and electricity. What will it be this time?"

The old man read the news in the paper, imagining what the future might look like.

Just then, the door suddenly opened.

"Sir, I've brought Orthworm back!"

Tong Hua walked in full of energy, with a Minccino standing on his shoulder and a Turtwig perched on his head, looking exactly as he had yesterday.

"Oh, you've finished clearing the fields already?" The old man set down his newspaper, stood up, and accepted the whistle Tong Hua handed him.

"Yep, the seeds have already sprouted today!" Tong Hua said excitedly. "It's all thanks to Orthworm loosening the soil and Bounsweet helping tend them."

"Twig, twig!" "Cin, cin!"

"Ah, right, right. Of course, you two deserve credit too. Thanks for all your hard work." Tong Hua helplessly patted the two little Pokémon. He couldn't let his guard down for even a moment. He had nearly played favorites again...

"Hahaha." Watching Tong Hua interact with the two Pokémon, the old man suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"Pokémon can be pretty scary when they get jealous. You certainly can't favor just one of them."

The old man seemed quite experienced in this regard and spoke at length.

"Take me, for example. When I was young, people called me the Sun of Universal Love. Every Pokémon at Sunshine Ranch received an equal share of my love."

The old man's proud expression and suddenly eccentric remark made the corners of Tong Hua's mouth twitch.

"So your name is Yang? This is the first I've heard of it. Did you move here from Alola?"

The face of Yang, the male protagonist of Pokémon Sun and Moon, popped into Tong Hua's mind, but he couldn't match it to the old man before him at all.

"No, I moved here from Paldea. I've been to the Alola Region too. It really is a warm place, quite suitable for retirement. I once considered opening a ranch there."

As the old man led Orthworm back into the ranch, he continued chatting with Tong Hua.

"But land on those islands seemed to be in pretty short supply. I searched for ages without finding a suitable place.

In the end, I came to the Almia Region instead. How should I put it? It turned out to be a pretty good choice."

Learning that the old man had also visited the Alola Region immediately piqued Tong Hua's interest.

"You're from Paldea? That's a nice place!

How many years ago did you visit Alola?"

The old man stroked his mustache. "About forty years ago, I suppose. I heard they later added an artificial island there, called Aether Paradise or something."

Aether Paradise!

Tong Hua hurriedly asked, "You've never been to Aether Paradise?"

The old man shook his head gently. "No. Ever since I came here, I've never left."

As soon as Orthworm returned to Sunshine Ranch, it burrowed underground. It seemed Pokémon really were more comfortable in familiar surroundings.

"But..." Tong Hua wanted to ask more, but the old man abruptly changed the subject.

"Your name is Tong Hua... right?"

For the first time, the old man addressed Tong Hua by name. Then he gazed out over the ranch, a complicated look in his eyes, and spoke slowly.

"Your grandfather has already... passed away, hasn't he?"

"..."

The air instantly froze.

Tong Hua fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.

"I see... so that's how it is..."

The old man suddenly seemed forlorn, as though all his earlier eccentricity and liveliness had merely been a brave front.

Tong Hua was at a loss too. The two Pokémon perched on him also sensed the delicate atmosphere and suddenly went quiet.

Leaning on his cane, the old man stood silently in the ranch.

After a long while, Mareep's soft bleating broke the silence. Miltank nuzzled the old man's leg, and the other Pokémon gathered around him. Only then did he emerge from his grief-filled memories.

"Ah, I'm all right..."

The old man turned away and discreetly wiped his tears. The Pokémon around him each used their own abilities to comfort him.

Surrounded by their lively cries, the old man gradually returned to his usual self.

"I got lost in old memories without meaning to. Sorry for leaving you waiting so long."

"No, no, no, I'm the one who should apologize!" Tong Hua bowed deeply, sending both the Turtwig on his head and the Minccino on his shoulder tumbling down. "Yesterday, I

shouldn't have lied to you!"

Watching the flustered boy and the two dazed Pokémon, the old man finally gave a genuine smile.

"Another one of my old friends is gone now. But he left behind a grandson who's just like him.

The times keep moving forward. Sooner or later, us old fellows have to leave the stage..."

Tong Hua picked up Turtwig and Minccino from the ground. As he raised his head, he heard the old man speak again.

"Tong Hua, could I ask you to stop by the ranch now and then?"

"Huh?" Tong Hua stood up, unsure what the old man meant.

"After all, this old man doesn't have anyone else to talk to anymore. These Pokémon are still here to keep me company, but Pokémon can't speak our language."

The old man, who had always simply referred to himself as "I," suddenly called himself "this old man." The meaning behind those words made Tong Hua understand at once.

"Of course. I'll be sure to visit you often."

For a man who refused to acknowledge his age to admit he was old, it could only mean he had realized he could no longer keep running from it.

Perhaps he had gathered the courage to face it, or perhaps he had resigned himself to reality.

Either way, he deserved to be treated with kindness.

Besides, coming over occasionally to chat with the old man would actually be a good opportunity to learn.

An elder in the home was a treasure. For a ranching novice like Tong Hua, having an experienced elder to guide him was practically another free windfall.

The old man saw Tong Hua out of the ranch. His next stop was the Carpentry Shop.